You can't fix a problem you don't know you have.
Imagine your car starts making a strange noise every time you drive on the motor way and speed up. You might not even notice it. Even if you do hear it, you might not think it’s a big deal. Your car still runs fine, right?
A few more trips and the noise gets louder. So you take the car to a mechanic. They pop the hood, inspect it and tell you the issue. There's a loose belt that’s been wearing down over time. You leave the car in the workshop to get it fixed and take the bus back home.
The problem was there all along, but because you didn’t know about it, you couldn’t do anything to fix it.
That’s the challenge with web accessibility. If you don’t know something's wrong, you won't do anything about it until it's too late. Insight gives you choice.
Without understanding where your product falls short, you’re left guessing. Can you fill in your checkout form with just a keyboard? Can a screen reader work with your contact page? Is the product video captioned?
Do you even know?
Start by testing your product with accessibility tools and real users. Automated tools will catch basic issues, but nothing beats the touch of a human. For example, your colour scheme might pass the contrast test of a machine, but a colour blind person can instantly tell you they can't tell your buttons apart. That complex menu structure you have is correctly marked up, but it confuses the hell out of people with cognitive disabilities.
You need this insight to make informed decisions. You can choose to adjust the colour scheme or simplify your navigation. And these choices won’t just benefit users with disabilities. They'll improve the experience for everyone.
Insight gives you choice. Without it, you’re stuck.